Local supply chain development in the transition economies: the case of Kazakhstan

Considers the development of local supply chains in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The reconstruction of supply chains, torn apart by the collapse of central planning, is a very important task for national economic recovery in all the transition economies but, as Western experience shows, it could be especially germane to economic development at the local and regional level. Using the results of research carried out in Kazakhstan during late 1995 and 1996, we outline the local supply chains which are beginning to emerge and attitudes towards them. The case is made for increased local policy intervention to promote local supply chain development in Kazakhstan and, by implication, elsewhere in the transition economies.